The Fighting Saints host Game 1 in the best-of-five series at 8:05 p.m. Wednesday.

Here are three reasons why the Lumberjacks can beat Dubuque:

1.Ride the defense: Stick with disciplined style and goaltender Kevin Lindskoug needs to be sharp.

2.Roster changes: The two teams haven’t played since Jan. 25. That was before the trading deadline when the Lumberjacks made some major moves. And the planned departure of coach Jim Montgomery after the playoffs has to be a bit of a distraction for Dubuque.

3.Steal one on the road: It’s a short series, so winning Game 1 or 2 on the road would be big. The Lumberjacks had a 14-12-6 record away from L.C. Walker Arena.

Here are three reasons why they can’t:

1.Unable to match up offensively: Dubuque had three 30-plus goal scorers. Muskegon has none and lost second-leading scorer Joe Cox to a late-season injury.

2.Goalie Arthur Brey: He’s the leading netminder in the USHL with a 2.22 goals against average.

3. Track record: Dubuque won six of seven games in the season series and only once had less than 30 shots.